Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Ft The Selfie Bag*

Over Christmas break and into the New Year we’ve been busy decluttering and organising the spare bedroom. It’s a slow process but we’re hoping to have it ready by the end of the month. 😊 I’m sure I’ll write a before and after post once it’s all finished.

During any decluttering session at home, I’m always mindful about any household waste that may come from it. I make sure to sort and recycle any plastic, metal and cardboard materials (where possible) and reuse any paper products.

The idea is to keep myself from throwing anything in the regular bin, if I can help it. I’ll always try to reuse or repurpose an item first, then look at donating it and finally recycling it.

With that in mindI’d like to share some easy ways you can reduce waste, reuse items and recycle at home.

Buy resuable household items.

Instead of buying throwaway items like paper plates and one-time use batteries, opt for reusable ones. Invest in washable plates and rechargeable batteries, which will also save you money in the long term.

Resuable shopping bags.

Rather than grabbing plastic bags when you go out shopping, bring resuable ones with you. Not only are they resuable but they tend to hold more weight than plastic ones.

I have a small collection of shopping bags I carry with me including the The Selfie Bag* from Cotton Bag Co which is the newest edition to my collection. It’s a canvas bag and, as the name suggests, helps you take the perfect selfie.

It comes in two different styles, the black and gold version I have and a beige one with colourful patterns. With a fold out reflective panel inside to help natural light bounce off your face – the only downside is it crinkles easily!

Out of the two designs, I prefer the black and gold one – it’s such a gorgeous pattern and more my style. The bag itself is very sturdy but I find the strap too long for my small frame, something to keep in mind if you’re also a petite woman.

Along with The Selfie Bag, I also keep a fold up strawberry bag (from Lakeland) inside my handbag and two Star Wars themed grocery bags from Tesco in the boot of my car.

Repair broken items

How often have you had a sole coming off your shoe or a hole in the lining of your jacket and binned the item? Yes you could donate them but honestly, who wants to buy a broken or damaged item? More often than not these are disposed of by the charity shop and never make it to sale.

Instead look at repairing the item yourself or at a reputable shop. I gave recently had the zip on my favourite leather jacket repaired, along with the lining in my coat by a local seamstress. As an added bonus, repairs are usually cheaper than buying a new item.

Donate or sell old items.

If you’re no longer using an item, consider donating it or selling it. Furniture, clothes, and other household items can be donated to charity shops or Freecycle sites. Whereas old books and magazines can be donated to hospital waiting rooms.

For selling items, I’ve had the most success at car boot sales or Facebook ‘for sale’ pages.

Use your local recycling centre

You may have a weekly or bi-weekly pick up for your recycling, which I’d urge you to make use of. If not, separate recyclable items yourself at take them to your local recycling centre. The staff very are usually very helpful and will point you in the right direction.

How do you recycle at home? Do you have resuable shoppings bags? If so, where do you buy yours? Let me know in the comments. 😊

14 thoughts on “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Ft The Selfie Bag*”

I’ve recently been on a decluttering spree too, I think the start of the year is a great time to do it. Canvas bags are so handy and much prettier than plastic bags anyway. I really love the black and gold, it is such a nice pattern. That is a fantastic idea to re-purpose Christmas Cards into tags, I was wondering what to do with my cards so thank you for the inspiration! Fab post Kim! <3 xx

It’s great that you’re working on all of these things. I have most of these covered at home but not quite all (rechargeable batteries…). Posts like these are great for reminding people what small things they can do to help. Repurposing the cards is such a great idea!! x

I love the black and gold pattern on that bag, it’s so pretty! Plus, who wouldn’t want a bag that will help them take the perfect selfie 😉 Sounds like a win/win to me
Britt | http://alternativelyspeaking.ca

This is a great post! Tempted as I am sometimes to buy paper plates so I can avoid washing up, thinking about all the waste it would accumulate just means it doesn’t make sense to do. The Selfie Bag is such a pretty design as well, but I often have issues with handles being too long as well.

I must admit, I really need to be better at fixing things and recycling things when they’re broken – I’m guilty of throwing things away when they could probably have a new lease of life.

I know what you mean about washing up! It is possible to recycle paper plates though instead of putting them in the regular waste bin. I have some at home still! They always have such pretty designs and can be great for themed parties.

Hi Kim 🙂 Another great post on a very important topic! I hope to become a little more eco-friendly with recycling and so on. I like the sound of your eco-bag selection, I have about four or five mainly from Primark. Since shops started charging 5p for plastic bags, I’ve been using my fabric ones mostly. The black and gold bag you featured is very pretty, the design reminds me of Pacifica packaging, which is a natural beauty brand you might have heard of. Repairing clothing is also a good tip, I can imagine being nifty with a sewing needle would benefit from less waste. I make handmade cards and often people give me recycled cards so I can cut them up and re-use them. My Mums keen on eco-living, this year she decided to keep a stack of recycled cards to write on like a notebook. Look forward to reading more of your posts soon! 🙂 xx